When a Jewish public school teacher in the Bronx loses funding for the high school musical, he turns to an unlikely solution: raising $10,000 by gambling in an underground Hasidic card ring. But the twist in the sharp new comedy “Yaniv” is that the game at the center of the action isn’t poker or blackjack — it’s Yaniv, a fast-paced Israeli card game rarely seen on screen.
To pull it off, the teacher recruits a friend who’s far better at cards and disguises him as a Hasidic man. Posing as strangers, the duo infiltrates the game, but if they’re discovered, it won’t just be the musical at risk.
A Jewish comedy decades in the making
Ben Ducoff and Amnon Carmi go way back: all the way to their school days in Cleveland, where they were the kind of kids who got into trouble together.
“Amnon was more charming and could talk his way out of things, so I would get a lot more detentions,” Ducoff told Unpacked.
After college, Carmi moved to Israel, where he picked up a fast-paced card game called Yaniv, and later taught it to Ducoff. Though the two had brainstormed over a hundred movie ideas, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, while playing Yaniv obsessively, that inspiration finally struck: what if a New York City public school teacher, desperate to save the school musical, tried to fund it by gambling in an underground Hasidic card ring?
That idea became “Yaniv,” a sharp and playful comedy that stars Ducoff as a teacher determined to stage “Little Shop of Horrors” — despite having zero budget from his principal. In a case of art imitating life, Ducoff is a real-life teacher and cast several of his actual students in the film. He currently teaches film and production at Motion Picture High School in Queens, which is set to relocate to a new location in Sunnyside.
Working with real students was one of the most rewarding — and challenging — parts of production as child actors have many restrictions on when and how many hours they can work.
“They refused to leave the set, which is a good problem to have,” Ducoff said. “But New York labor laws mean they could only work six hours.”
“Yaniv” was filmed in just 19 days, during the height of the Omicron wave in 2022: “We were running out of time and budget,” Carmi recalled.
He added there was some resistance when they pitched the film, including some who said it would not work without a well-known actor.
But he and Ducoff remained undeterred.
“Ben and I, part of what makes us great friends is we are both incredibly defiant and always willing to go against the grain,” Carmi said. “It was a lot of leaps of faith and also trusting our gut.”
“Yaniv” is full of Jewish references and comedic energy. Fans of Adam Sandler, Mel Brooks, and the Safdie brothers will find a lot to love.
“We wanted to have something original that wasn’t shlocky and had a positive Jewish message,” Carmi said.
The game, the chaos, and the music
In “Yaniv,” Ducoff plays Bernstein, a scrappy public school teacher whose fellow teacher and friend Jonah (Eli Boskey) turns out to be a natural at cards. Bernstein teaches him how to play Yaniv and convinces him to dress up as a Hasidic man so they can sneak into the underground game and hopefully win big.
Distributed by Menemsha Films, Yaniv follows Bernstein and Jonah as their scheme lands them in hot water, forcing a final decision from the “Rebbe” — played by Carmi himself. Annabel Steven delivers a standout performance as Deb, a teacher who overhears their plan and insists on getting involved.
In one memorable scene, a woman is startled to find an uninvited Hasidic man in her home. For Ducoff, it’s not far from real life:
“My father was a dancer,” he said. “He was constantly inviting people over for dance parties in our living room. People walking through our front door uninvited wasn’t uncommon.”
The card game Yaniv itself is a bit tricky to follow if you’re unfamiliar. It’s a fast-paced Israeli game where players try to have the lowest total value on their cards. The player who thinks they’ve won declares “Yaniv!” but they risk losing if someone has a lower hand.
New York Mets fans will enjoy a cameo from a member of the 1986 World Series team, and there’s even a performance of the Yiddish song “Abi Gezunt” — though that scene almost didn’t happen. Originally, a klezmer band was supposed to perform, but that plan fell apart.
“They had never been on a movie set before and they did not like the concept of waiting,” Ducoff said. “They all walked off set. It was late at night. We didn’t know what to do.”
Luckily, the keyboard player stayed behind — and Ducoff credits actor Adam B. Shapiro, who plays Mendy, with saving the moment.
They shot “Abi Gezunt” in one take, Ducoff said. Carmi added that many things on set that happened by accident became the best scenes in the film.
As for whether there’s any truth to the existence of underground Hasidic gambling rings?
“We will neither confirm nor deny it,” Ducoff said with a smile.
“Yaniv” is a movie full of heart and laughs
They have, however, hosted events where guests watch the film and play the card game. On August 7, “Yaniv” will screen at Maxwell Tribeca in Manhattan with live gameplay and a dance party. It will also screen at Rialto Cinemas in Sonoma, California on Sept. 9.
“We’ve had some degenerates come see our film,” Ducoff joked, but added that most people were interested in watching “Yaniv” and not playing it for money.
Lighthearted and refreshingly unpretentious, “Yaniv” doesn’t try to be more than it is: a warm, scrappy, Jewish indie comedy. While the plot may be a little predictable, the film delivers a few surprises, solid laughs, and a reminder that low-budget filmmaking still has heart.
Ducoff deserves serious credit for balancing his real-life teaching career with leading a feature film. It’ll be interesting to see what he does next.
For Ducoff and Carmi, the goal wasn’t just to make people laugh, it was to reflect a broader range of Jewish identity on screen.
“We wanted to show Jewish characters with different levels of observance, and make the film feel universal,” Ducoff said.
“The Jewish experience is varied,” Carmi added. “We try to find what we have in common. The quote ‘two Jews, three opinions’ rings true — but it’s something we can embrace. It brings joy and humor to our lives.”
